2 
ISS / ome 


a 


Institute of Pacific Relations 


Preliminary Paper Prepared for 
Second General Session 


July 15-29, 1927 


Memorandum on Missions 
By 4, 
HENRY T. HODGKIN /. 


Secretary, National Chiristian 
Council of China 


HONOLULU 
July, 1927 


Memorandum on Missions 


Synopsis 
Introduction. 


I. The Purpose of the Missionary Movement: 


Positively—to give the Christian message—individual and 
social, the development towards the latter. 
Negatively—political and commercial aims are excluded. 


II. The Work of Missions: 
Four stages indicated: 
(a) Pioneer work 
(b) Coming of infant churches 
(c) Transition from mission to church control 
(d) Full control by the church 
The “revolutionary” effects of Christianity less than might be 
expected. 


III. The Missionary Movement and Inter-racial Relations: 


Claim to toleration for Christian work and similarly for other 
religious propaganda if not subversive of human welfare. 

Danger of an attitude of superiority in the missionary. 

Some common assumptions analyzed: 
(1) That Western Civilization is superior to that of the Kast 

because Christian. 

(2) That religious toleration may be Reiatated by force. 
(3) That people are glad to have good done to them. 


IV. The Missionary and Commercial Enterprise: 
_ Causes of confusion. 

Common facilities enjoyed. 
Scale of missionary living. 

Danger of confusion and how to avoid it. 
Where there is open exploitation. 
Where the whole capitalistic system is attacked. 

Subsidiary grounds of confusion. 
(1) Mission industries. 
(2) Support of missions by commercial houses. 


VY. The Missionary and the Cultures of the East: 
The challenge of missions to social customs. 
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VI. 


Vil. 


The right of a country to resist social changes that are harmful. 
Confusion as to what is implied in Christianity. 
“Cultural exploitation” a charge which cannot be sustained. 
Points at issue: 
(1) Teaching of Chinese classics in Mission Schools. 
(2) Registration of Mission Schools. 
(3) Study of Chinese Culture, etc., by Missionaries. 
(4) Clearer differentiation between essential and adventitious 
in Christianity 
The Missionary and Political Issues: 
Grounds for criticism: 
A. Position of Special Privilege Secured Through Treaties. 
Missionaries’ rights of three kinds: 
(a) Those of all foreigners in any country. 
(b) Those of all foreigners in cases where treaties exist to 
give special rights. 
(c) Those granted to missionaries as such. 
The third group examined: 
Missionaries have secured and used special rights. 
Many are now ready to surrender these rights. 
Others regard the time as inopportune. 
Actions by missionary societies, etc. 
Resolution of National Christian Council of China. 
Action by British Government. 
B. Indemnities for Loss of Life or Property: 
The claim for indemnities one-sided. 3 
Murder of missionaries a ground for political aggression. 
Missionary opinion divided but tending towards repudia- 
tion of such claims. 
C. Missions and the European War: 
War propaganda. 
Work in the war. 
German missions. 


D. Missionaries Evacuated by Governmental Advice: 
Withdrawal not generally forced by local conditions. 
Effect on Chinese mind. 

E. Official Status of Missionaries and Legal Cases in China. 
Difference between Roman Catholic and Protestant. 
Relation of political claims to the different stages in mis- 

sionary work—the missionary and nationality in the 
country of his adoption. 


Present Tendencies in the Missionary Movement: 

(a) Recognition of faults in Western Civilization. 

(b) Desire to relinquish control of Church. 

(c) Desire to eliminate special privileges. 

(d) Increasing emphasis on constructive side and on values 
in non-christian systems. 

(e) Greater stress on social and international aspects. 


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VIII. The Value of Missions in Relation to Race Questions: 
(a) Personality of missionaries. 
(b) Work done in schools, hospitals, etc. 
(c) Check to exploitation. 
(d) Interpreting East to West. 
(e) Essential message is one of Reconciliation. 


MEMORANDUM ON MISSIONS FOR THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE, 
JULY, 1927. 
Introduction: 


The following memorandum deals almost exclusively with the 
‘point of view of the Protestant missionary movement as the writer 
is not sufficiently in touch with the Roman Catholic movement to 
be able to speak on it with any authority. Further, the detailed 
references and the general point of view are broadly those which 
have been gained through experience of the missionary movement 
in China, although the writer has had some opportunities of study- 
ing it in Japan, Korea, India and elsewhere. This memorandum is 
simply to be regarded as a personal expression and in no sense 
representing the point of view of the National Christian Council 
of which the writer happeng to be a secretary. 


I. The Purpose of the Missionary Movement: 


The conception which has given birth to the missionary move- 
ment is the conviction that the Christian Gospel contains a revela- 
tion of God through the person of Jesus Christ, that this revelation 
is valuable for all times and for all people, and that it is of im- 
portance for the lives of individuals and for human society that 
this revelation be known and understood and that all that is involved 
in it should be accepted and made the basis of individual and social 
life. In the early days of the modern missionary movement stress 
was placed to a very large extent upon the message of individual 
salvation and there was a tendency in certain quarters to an over 
emphasis upon this aspect of the Christian Gospel, leading to the 
idea that the Christian religion was almost exclusively concerned 
with the rescue of individuals from evil in this world and the next 
whatever happened to human society. More recently, while this 
aspect has not been forgotten, the tendency of the missionary move- 
ment has been to emphasize the relation of the individual to the 
community and the importance of applying the principles of Chris- 
tianity in the common life so that society may be improved and, 
to use the Christian terminology, the Kingdom of God may come 
on earth. This changing emphasis has produced a new orientation 
on the part of the missionary movement towards public questions. 
It has been accompanied by an increasing emphasis upon the educa- 
tional side of the missionary movement and it has led to a fairly 
general recognition by missionaries that political, social, international 
and other fields of human endeavor fall rightly within their con- 
sideration and activities. 


This development in the missionary movement corresponds to 
a similar change in the Christian Churches in the countries which | 
have sent out missionaries. While it does not affect all sections 
of the movement. in the same way, its influence is felt everywhere, 
some responding to the change and others reacting against it. 


While this change should be noted and recognized as a factor 
involving the missions in peculiar difficulties at the present time, 
it must not.be assumed that the charges made of missionary work 
as a direct agent of governments are thereby established. It cannot 
be too emphatically stated that the missionary movement as a whole 
does not exist to further political or commercial aims of foreign 
powers in China or elsewhere. Some of the reasons leading to this 
view will be examined later, but it is not possible to absolve all 
missionaries or missions from having been led into such association.* 
The outstanding fact, however, is that the movement as a whole 
represents a single-hearted desire to pass on to other peoples the 
benefits of the Christian Gospel. Its educational work is not deliber- 
ately designed to put over one cultural point of view upon peoples 
brought up under another, but rather it desires to contribute to in- 
tellectual development and emancipation as an integral part of the 
Christian Gospel. Its medical work is not an attempt to wean peo- 
ple away by kindness from allegiance to the traditions and ideals 
of their own past, but rather the natural expression of the Christian 
spirit of pity and love. Its organization of churches is not an 
elaborate system for westernizing the East or for creating a num- 
ber of persons who will be more western than eastern in outlook 
and loyalty (running-dogs of foreigners), but rather an honest effort 
to make permanent the fellowship of Christian persons so that it 
may be more deeply rooted in the lands which have only recently 
heard the Christian message. 


That the missionary movement has come under suspcion re- 
cently because of such a supposed connection between political, 
commercial and missionary purposes is a fact which must be 
examined into later in this memorandum. The writer is not pre- 
pared to acquit the missionary body of all blame in the matter, 
although much the larger causes may be found elsewhere. But 


under this section the one point to make clear is that in purpose 
and in essence there is no such connection; that the missionary 
movenient takes its stand upon a purely altruistic platform; that 
the funds for its work are contributed by persons whose aim in so 
doing is to please God and to serve His great family on earth; and that 
in so far as the missionary may become the instrument of unjustifiable 
cultural, political, economic advance (or exploitation) this is adventi- 
tious and in general a complication of or departure from his main 

purpose. . 


II. The Work of Missions: 


It is manifestly impossible in such a memorandum as this to 
give even any adequate summary of missionary operations. The 


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facts are sufficiently well-known in broad outline and are available 
in works of reference so far as details are concerned. The stages 
of missionary work may be indicated as follows: 


(a) Pioneer work, when the initiation, management and 
actual work is entirely in the hands of foreigners who, as time goes 
on, employ suitable agents from the country concerned to help them 
. in their efforts. 


(b) The Coming of the Infant Churches, when small groups 
are gathered who have embraced the Christian faith, who need 
much shepherding by the foreigner and are unwilling or unable to 
stand alone. In this period there is little selfconsciousness in the 
Christian group and they are not only content but eager for for- 
eign guidance and help at every point. In this stage educational 
work begins to assume a somewhat different aspect as being not 
simply a means of expressing the spirit of the Christian Gospel, but 
as also a necessary means towards building up the churches and 
leading them towards self-control and fuller self-expression. 


(c) The Transition from Mission to Church Control, when 
the churches have found themselves in greater or less degree and 
are able to assume increasingly heavy responsibilities in matters of 
finance, organization and extension.. This period may be a very 
long one, particularly where the second period has been unduly pro- 
longed and where the missions have not prepared the churches for 
their larger responsibilities. It may also be a very difficult stage 
if the missions hold their control longer than seems meet to the 
churches or if the external circumstances introduce an element of 
strain. 


(d) Full Control by the Church, when the missionary, so far 
as he is still at work, is the servant of the Church and accepts his 
appointment in the same way as pastors and teachers who are 
native to the country. This is the recognized aim of mission work. 
The problems of missionary development today are largely those 
created by the different views as to the methods and the rate at 
which progress should be made to this desired end. In different 
sections of the Pacific area mission work will be found in all of 
the stages referred to. The relation to political issues will vary 
according to the stage reached, as will be shown later. 


It is evident that a movement which aims to produce such 
profound changes in human life and in society must, from the 
nature of the case, have far-reaching consequences in every realm 
of human interest. In the early days Christianity was a disturbing 
element and it was said of the Christian missionaries that they 
had “turned the world upside down.” It was the effect of Chris- 
tianity upon social institutions that led to such bitter persecution. 
Where slavery, polygamy, idol or state-worship, tyranny of every 
kind, war, the traffic in human beings and other great evils come 
up for criticism if not for unflinching opposition and where these 
practices are deeply embedded in the social order, there cannot fail 


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to be disturbances affecting the whole of society. That Christian 
missions have produced such effects is obvious, and they may be 
more open to criticism for having produced them too seldom and 
too slightly than for having been excessive as “disturbers of the 
peace.” Broadly speaking, Christianity has erred by being acquies- 
cent in relation to existing evils and accepting compromises with 
the status quo far more often than it has erred by excessive zeal 
for reforms. In fact the usual criticism of the Christian Church 
in the East today is that it is not Christian enough, far more 
often than that its passion for the Christian way of life has been 
too manifest. Thus the current attacks upon the missionary move- 
ment are not mainly those which we might expect by a contempla- 
tion of Christian ethics and Church history. This will be made clear 
in what follows. 


Ill. The Missionary Movement and Inter-Racial Relations: 


As has been shown the missionary movement rests upon the 
assumption that the Christian Gospel is of value—indeed of per- 
manent value—to the whole world. It is not the purpose of this 
memorandum to argue this point. It will be conceded by most 
that true Christianity has a value not for one race alone, but for 
all. As to how that value should be made available for races that 
have hitherto not received it may be a matter for fair discussion. 
It is, however, contended that those persons who hold the con- 
viction that Christianity is unique and in some sense essential for 
the well-being of humanity should not be debarred from expressing 
that view so long as it be done in ways that do not offend the good 
sense of the peoples to whom they go. It is generally recognized 
that there should be freedom for the spreading of ideas which are 
not actually subversive of human welfare and even in regard to the 
latter there is a strong conviction that in the main they had better, 
in a general way, be allowed to kill themselves against the com- 
mon sense of humanity rather than be suppressed by an enlightened 
minority. 


On this ground the claim of the missionary movement to tolera- 
tion would seem to be a fair one and it should be evident that a 
similar claim can be sustained for say Buddhism or Islam. The 
Christian missionary should not claim what he will not concede to 
another and the missionary enterprise should be prepared to stand 
or fall as it meets, on even terms at the bar of humanity, those 
other systems of thought and modes of living which have claimed 
or do claim the allegiance of men. 


It cannot be denied that missionaries have at times departed 
from this principle and have claimed or received special privileges. 
In fact the association of the missionary with the idea of special 
privileges is one of the chief points of attack at the present moment 
in China. Before dealing with the question, however, it may be 
well to raise certain deeper issues. | 


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It is easy to see that persons who are possessed with a strong 
conviction that the truth which they know and try to follow is 
of value to others who do not know it may assume an attitude of 
superiority in dealing with those others. In recent years the sen- 
sitiveness of the non-Christian peoples in their contacts with 
Western nations has undoubtedly increased, and this has led to a 
feeling among the more educated and sensitive peoples of the East 
that the missionary movement in essence was an expression of racial 
superiority. That missionaries have in a number of cases fallen 
into this false and unchristian attitude can hardly be denied. 
Nevertheless the Christian message is so deeply rooted in the con- 
ception of the personality of Jesus which is so truly that of a 
humble man between whom and others we find no such barrier, 
that the danger alluded to has perhaps not been as much felt as 
might be expected from the nature of the case. In many mis- 
sianaries the characteristics of their Master have been so shown 
as to save them from this taint of racial superiority. It must, how- 
ever, be admitted that the very idea of bringing to a people a 
message which is felt to be superior to anything which they have 
received from their own past creates a difficult situation. The 
modern missionary movement is, generally speaking, alive to the 
value of many of the traditions, philosophies, and religious con- 
ceptions which have moulded the peoples of the East and the at- 
tempt to establish the superiority of Christianity by setting a light 
value upon these may be said to be discredited by all modern 
missionary leaders. The deeper resentment against missions may 
fairly be said to arise from an attitude of racial superiority assumed 
(often quite unconsciously) by individual missionaries. This may 
be a matter of heredity and upbringing which even the nature of 
the Christian Gospel has failed to eradicate. But it may also 
actually be fostered in persons who have imperfectly understood 
and entered into the spirit of Christ by the very nature of the work 
in which they are engaged. 

Certain assumptions have not infrequently been made by mis- 
sionaries and the supporters of missions which foster this same 
attitude and which should be brought out clearly in any considera- 
tion of the subject. The following may be specified: 


1. That Western Civilization Is Superior to the Civilization of the 
East Because It Is Christian: 

It may be fairly said that this assumption until recently was 
very prevalent in the missionary movement. The products of 
modern science and of many other influences which have moulded 
Western civilization were too readily assumed to be evidences of 
the superiority of Christianity. Until recently it was assumed that 
modern machinery and inventions were necessarily a boon to any 
nation. The increase of wealth, the higher standard of living 
among the people, the better sanitary conditions and the many 
other aspects of Western civilization were freely quoted as evidences 
of the value of Christianity. This assumption undoubtedly helped 


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the Christian missionary at a certain period of his work and gave 
him a certain prestige. This was true until the assumption began 
to be challenged and educated men from the East began to doubt 
the value of many aspects of Western civilization as it was revealed 
through closer acquaintanceship, especially during the Great War. 
It may be said that the missionary movement no longer seeks 
to claim the whole of Western civilization as an evidence of the 
value of the Christian faith and that what was an asset has in 
certain respects become a liability. 


2. That Religious Toleration Should Be Maintained by Superior 
Force If Necessary. 

This assumption led, among other things, to the so-called “tol- 
eration clauses” for missionaries in China, and until the last ten 
or fifteen years it was generally regarded as a helpful thing that 
the Christian movement in China had grown up under the protection 
of these clauses which rested ultimately upon the fact that Western 
nations had at their disposal stronger military forces than China. 
Again it may be said that religious toleration secured in this way 
did give an opportunity for the Christian Church in China to grow 
up when it might, in the early stages, have been crushed by local 
opposition. These clauses further made it possible for missionaries 
to travel and reside in centers not open for foreign residence 
generally and thus to create centers of Christian activity in which 
the foreign missionary resided and where foreign capital was 
invested. 

This assumption is challenged from the point of view of those 
who believe that, while religious toleration is in itself good, it is 
not good that it should be maintained by coercion, especially if 
that is exercised by foreign Powers who, in many of their relation- 
ships with the nation concerned, have shown themselves far less 
than disinterested. In regard to this assumption there is a grow- 
ing feeling among missionaries that the criticism on this second 
ground is valid, and that the Christian movement loses rather 
than gains through the kind of support indicated. That is to say, 
in this particular again, that which was previously regarded by 
almost all missionaries, and by most Chinese Christians, as an 
asset is coming to appear to very many as a liability. 


3. That People Ought to Be and Would Be Glad to Have Good 
Done to Them. 


It may fairly be said that in the Victorian Era there was 
scarcely a question in the minds of people as to whether those 
who seemed to be less fortunate would be or at least ought to be 
glad to receive the help of those who regarded themselves as more 
fortunate. A great deal of the philanthrophy of that era seems, 
in the light of the present attitude, to have been tinged with the 
spirit of patronage, which may be regarded as the doing of good 
in a superior way. Very often those who patronize have no con- 
ception that the person whom they desire to help may be rather 


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hindered than helped by that type of assistance and that it may 
legitimately be resented. It cannot be denied that missionary work 
was largely carried on upon this assumption. It seemed perfectly 
obvious to convinced Christians that they had something supremely 
good to offer and that those to whom they went with their message, 
with their education, with their medical help, etc., would be the. 
better for receiving such help and would, therefore, at any rate in 
the long run, be glad to have it. This underlying assumption is 
today very widely questioned even by those who are confident that 
the Christian Gospel and outlook on life contain positive goods 
which peoples who have not received them would be the better for 
receiving. The resentment on the part of peoples who regard the 
whole missionary movement as an unjustified assumption of super- 
iority has made itself felt refiexly in the movement as a whole and 
in many of its leaders. The effort is being made increasingly to 
come alongside the people to whom the Christian message is pre- 
sented and rather to give them the opportunity of discovering its 
value than so to insist upon its value as to awaken a resistance. 


IV. The Missionary and Commercial Enterprise: 


The missionary movement is frequently regarded as a part of 
the commercial approach of foreign peoples to China (or other 
nations). This view is supported by the fact that the trader and 
the missionary have frequently entered a country at about the 
same time, the missionary sometimes availing himself of facliities — 
offered to traders (as in the case of Robert Morrison and many 
others), and the business man in other cases, using an opening 
made through the action of missionaries. When a foreign nation 
is little known this confusion between various aspects of its ap- 
proach is easily accounted for. 


A further cause of confusion is the fact that the scale of 
missionary living is on a much higher level, in the great majority 
of cases, than that of the mass of the people among whom he works. 
Large sums of money are expended in medical and educational 
work. Chinese servants, teachers, catechists, etc., are employed 
on a large scale. Western capitalism seems to be behind the whole 
movement. It is felt to be but another expression of “this great 
rich country”’ which comes with her resources and her skill to trade 
with a poorer people. 


The identification of missionary and trader matters but little 
where trade is carried on in a sound way and where there is no 
element of exploitation or no sense of there being such on the part 
of the people of the country concerned. Recently, however, great 
emphasis has been placed upon the idea of exploitation. What 
precisely this means and how far the charge can be made good 
against Western peoples trading in the Pacific area it is not for 
this paper to discuss. But it may be pointed out that traffic in 
alcohol and opium can scarcely be regarded in any other light, that 
forced labor and slavery are certainly examples of exploitation on 


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any showing, and that the employment of persons of a supposed 
lower civilization or state of culture on terms that could not be 
offered to others is open to severe criticism. All these aspects of 
the commercial contact of the white races with others have been 
or are known. To identify the missionary movement with them 
is completely to misunderstand it. Missionaries have repeatedly 
protested against these and similar evils. The anti-opium and anti- 
alcoholic movements have been largely inspired and promoted by 
missionaries and their supporters. The same is true of movements 
against forced labor and slavery. Recently investigation of child 
labor, efforts to improve labor conditions and other similar services 
have been inaugurated by missionaries. Not all missionaries have 
supported such efforts, but it would be fair to say that they would 
never have commenced, or if started, would soon have languished 
had it not been for missionary activity. In fact the missionary has 
time and again been the subject of bitter criticism by the trader 
because of his supposed or actual influence in limiting profits 
through attacking what he believes to be illegitimate practices in 
trade. 


The more drastic criticism of the capitalistic system today by 
various socialistic or communistic movements has carried the dis- 
cussion of these questions to a further point. Missions, in a certain 
sense, do rest upon the capitalistic system. Among missionary 
givers are large capitalists and certain enterprises are well known 
to owe their existence to gifts from persons of great wealth who 
have come under criticism for the way in which that wealth was 
obtained. It is believed by many that the missionary movement 
is hampered in taking a bold Christian line in regard to the capital- 
istic system or certain evils connected with it because of the de- 
pendence of the enterprise on such givers. It can scarcely be ques- 
tioned that there is an element of truth in this suggestion, though 
it would be difficult to maintain it in any large way. Many mis- 
sionaries are still to be found who will not allow any such con- 
nection to hamper their freedom of expression. Some are earnestly 
seeking for ways whereby they may be more free to deliver their 
social message, for example, by living more simply or by earing 
their own living while carrying on missionary work. Such are, 
however, a small minority. The fundamental critics of the capital- 
istic system cannot fail to regard the missionary movement as a 
whole as a dangerous factor or at least as giving them no assist- 
ance in their effort to alter the existing social order. 


Two smaller items should be referred to here: (1) There are 
certain missionaries who have started industrial enterprises in con- 
nection with the missions (or in rare cases as personal concerns). 
This is much less frequent round the Pacific Basis than in Africa 
and India. Such efforts are often felt to be a very valuable part 
of missionary effort, training hand and eye, fitting people to earn 
an honest living, developing character through industry, and so 
forth. In Africa these efforts are a very important factor in the 


12 


development of the country and an integral part of mission educa- 
tion. It is almost impossible to make clear to the average person 
wherein lies the difference between such efforts and ordinary trad- 
ing and there are some cases where there has been virtually no 
difference and where the missionary has used these methods for 
supporting a school, giving scholarships to deserving children (not 
even in some cases, excluding his own!). It must be frankly ad- 
mitted that these pieces of work give some real ground for the 
identification of missions with the commercial enterprise; and it 
may, in passing, be remarked that the greatest possible care should 
be exercised to give no just cause for criticism. 


(2) There are certain cases where chambers of commerce have 
supported missionary work and grants have been made by business 
concerns out of their trading profits rather than by individuals. 
This plan which has not been at all widely followed is open to the 
objection that the missionary enterprise is regarded by big business 
as a means whereby its aims can be furthered and that argument 
has been used both by missionaries and by business men. At the 
same time the movement (if it can be so called) is a welcome 
sign that the altruistic ends of missions are more generally recog- 
nized and respected by business men, and it is true that, in the 
main, the subventions made have been used as the fulfillment of a 
moral obligation towards the people of the country where the trader 
works. Many high-minded men have supported this movement 
without any thought to increasing profits and have been glad to 
pay, as it were, a tax from the profits of the firm, much as similar 
gifts are often made to hospitals in the West. Nevertheless the 
practice needs to be watched. 


V. The Missionary and the Cultures of the East: 


From the nature of the case the missionary movement raises 
far-reaching questions affecting the culture and social life of the 
peoples to whom it comes. Take an institution like polygamy which 
is closely connected with the family system and the urgent need 
for the raising up of male descendants in countries where ancestor- 
worship is practiced. The Christian missionary, generally speaking, 
has not found it possible to acquiese in this custom and he thus 
appears as one who is interested in destroying the social system and 
bringing in something which is distinctive of western culture. It 
is intensely difficult to divide the religious interest from social and 
cultural questions; in fact it is not possible in many cases to do so. 
Nevertheless the missionary has not always been as careful to avoid 
this confusion as, in the light of events, he may well wish he had 
been. To him the whole social system he represents and the cul- 
tural ideas he has imbibed from childhood are part of one whole. 
They are the warp, as it were, of which his religion is the woof. 
It is no wonder that he has carried his culture with him in ways 
not always essential to the carrying of his religious message. 


This cultural and social effect of missions has been studied 
13 


in a very thorough way in recent years, especially in Dennis’ 
monumental work* and in many special studies. Missions have ex- 
pressed this aspect of their work largely through their schools and 
colleges, and hospitals, and also in specific attack upon social cus- 
toms which are felt to be degrading or immoral. How far a country 
is justified in excluding a religious faith which is felt to be sub- 
versive of existing social customs is a subject for discussion which 
arises at this point, and which cannot be dealt with in this memo- 
randum. But granting the right of a country to exclude certain 
specific teachings (as witness the laws of the United States and 
other countries in regard to polygamists) it may be urged that, on 
the whole, the deepest convictions of mankind have agreed, in all 
countries, that the Christian way of life is, per se, of value to society. 


The missionary, however, needs to study the culture and social 
customs of the country to which he goes in order that he may 
not challenge or destroy what is not essentially hurtful or con- 
trary to the principles of Christianity. By failing to make such 
a study the missionary in the past has not infrequently identified 
his prejudice with his real task, he has waged war against a custom 
which seems to an unsympathetic mind to be idolatrous or immoral, 
but which on closer examination may appear to be harmless. Some 
missionaries feel, for example, that the reverence to Confucius by 
making three bows is not in any true sense an act of worship, and 
that the opposition to this practice has been an instance of prejudice 
and lack of sympathy rather than a genuine expression of Chris- 
tianity. 

Recently in China the whole missionary movement has been at- 
tacked as a piece of “cultural exploitation.” This phrase seems to 
mean that westerners have deliberately tried to de-nationalize 
Chinese, to substitute western for Chinese culture, to bring China 
in a very subtle way under the spell of Western ideas and thus 
under Western political influence, and, in short, that China’s most 
precious possessions in her own great past were being insidiously 
attacked under the name of bringing her good news. This claim 
cannot, in the writer’s opinion, be made good but there is just 
enough ground for it to cause the missionary to examine his work 
very carefully to recognize that he has given some ground for the 
charge, and to see that in his work in the future, he discriminates 
more carefully between the essence of his faith and its accessories. 

The following specific questions should be referred to under 
this head: 


(1) The Teaching of Chinese Classics in Mission Schools: 


There has not been, generally speaking, as much attention to 
this subject in mission schools, as on general grounds, would be 
desirable. This is due in part to the lack of intimate knowledge of 
the subject by missionaries administering such schools, to the dif- 
ficulty of securing first-rate teachers within the available subven- 


* Christian Missions and Social Progress. 


14 


tions, to the methods of teaching which have often been used in 
classical teaching and to the fact that students in mission schools 
come largely for English language and modern subjects and do not 
take the classifical education so seriously. At the same time, a 
more persistent recognition of the fact that the new China must 
draw her life-ideals in large part from her own past and that 
Christianity is a fulfillment rather than a destruction of that past 
would mean a far deeper determination than has generally been 
present to overcome the difficulties. Where there is such a de- 
termination ways can usually be found. 


(2) Registration of Mission Schools: 


On general principles most missionaries now agree that mission 
schools should be registered with the government. Missions have, 
however, in most cases been slow, and probably too slow, in reaching 
this conclusion and acting upon it. At the present time the demand 
for registration is very urgent. It is due to a resentment against 
the idea of a system of education within China controlled and 
financed by foreigners (a thought stimulated by the recent Educa- 
tional Commission, 1922, which, though of great value in many 
ways, left a fear in the minds of many Chinese), to the rising 
nationalist movement and the recognition of education as a prime 
factor in producing national unity and to the prevalent anti-foreign 
bias which calls for what is termed the “restoration of educational 
rights.” 

The difficulties in the way of registration are considerable, in- 
cluding the problem of securing suitable Christian Chinese to man- 
age the schools, the doubt as to whether the requirements will tend 
to eliminate effective Christian teaching and the fear of party (Kuo 
Ming Tang) interference and management. By patient effort on 
both sides it seems likely that these and other difficulties will be 
met. Some demands made very insistely now may be modified 
and some missioinary attitudes may be changed. It seems clear 
that only as the schools register will they be able to make the 
_ kind of contribution to China that will be free from the suspicion 
at any rate of “cultural exploitation.” It may well be, however, 
that some will be justified in going rather slowly in this direction 
until the mind of China is expressed in a clearer and more nearly 
final way on some of the issues raised. 


(3) The Study of Chinese Culture and Present Day Thinking by 
Missionaries: 

A great advance in this matter has been made in recent years 
through the establishment of schools of study in China and in 
_ England and America, as well as on the continent of Europe. But, 
in the writer’s view, not nearly enough has been done. Far more 
thorough work along both the lines indicated is needed, not simply 
for the few missionaries who do special types of work, but for all. 
The unconscious attitudes must be corrected, a real appreciation of 
the deeper sides of Chinese life must be seen in the missionary if 


15 


he is to avoid the errors referred to above. China is sentitive— 
perhaps hypersensitive—on this point today. It is for the mis- 
sionary organizations to see that they send out men and women 
who are sensitized so that they will take impressions quickly, who 
are eager to learn as well as to teach and who are on the look-out 
to avoid giving needless offence. 


(4) The Clearer Differentiation Between the Essential and the 
Adventitious in the Christian Message: 

It will be obvious that the dangers referred to. above will be 
observed if the missionary sees clearly exactly what it is that he 
has to give to the East. Study of this point is needed not only in 
preparation for coming out, but during the whole period of mis- 
sionary work. Help should be given to younger missionaries and 
candidates. There may be some who would be better eliminated 
because they are unable to shake off certain assumptions and at- 
titudes that are not essential to Christian effort. 


VI. The Missionary and Political Issues: 


The missionary has been regarded not only as partner in the 
commercial advance of the West and as an insidious enemy of east- 
ern culture and social habits, but also as a part of the political 
aggression of Europe and America. This view also draws support 
from certain facts which have, in the writer’s view, been given an 
undue prominence and have indeed helped to create a false impres- 
sion. Nevertheless, there are grounds for fair criticism and it will 
be our purpose here to consider these as well as the questions on 
which misunderstandings exist. 


A. The position of the missionary has been secured in certain 
countries through treaties which have given to the missionary a 
place of special privilege. As such treaties are under discussion in 
China in a marked way at the present time, it may be well to con- 
centrate attention on this case. Here again it is impossible in the 
compass of this memorandum to give a full statement of the case 
which is admirably dealt with in various public documents and 
books. The salient point must be enough. 

The rights of missionaries are of three kinds: 


(a) Those shared by all foreigners in any country, such as the 
right of appeal to his own consul, and such guarantees as 
are normally given by any civilized country to the citizens 
of other countries resident in their territory ; 

(b) The special rights granted by treaty to citizens of the “Treaty 
Powers,” including the right to have any case against him 
tried by his own country’s representative according to its 
procedure, exemption from taxation, and so forth. 

(c) The special rights granted by treaty to the missionary as such, 
which include the right to reside and hold property in cities 
not open to other foreigners, and the right to sia 
his religion. 


16 


In regard only to the second and third group is there any dis- 
pute and since the second will be dealt with in other ways, the 
third only need be mentioned here in any detail. 


It should be remembered always that these privileges were 
sought and obtained largely by missionaries, that they are solely 
for the benefit of missionaries and Chinese Christians, and that the. 
rights have been enjoyed to the full during a considerable period of 
time. This consideration should at the same time make clear 
why the missionary movement is involved today in the criticism 
of the whole structure of the treaties and also absolve the mission- 
ary of today from the charge of unjustifiable ‘interference’ in 
politics.” The treaties, being under criticism, the missionary who 
has a special place in them cannot simply stand aside as if the 
whole matter were no concern of his. If these clauses are not his 
concern, whose are they! It may further be urged that since mis- 
sionaries form no small part of the foreign community in China 
they have as much right as any other foreigners to express their 
view in regard to the second class of rights, it always being clear 
that an equal right is granted to other foreign residents. This 
much needs to be said because the missionary has been severely 
challenged in regard to this matter in recent discussions. A fur- 
ther point, which may not be as readily conceded, but which seems 
to the writer equally cogent, is that any true view of religion im- 
plies the attempt to moralize all human relationships and where 
grave moral issues are raised by political arrangements, the forces 
of religion are culpable if they remain silent. 


It scarcely seems necessary to discuss how far it was wise or 
right in the early days of China’s relation to foreign powers for 
missionaries to claim and receive special privileges either for them- 
selves or for their converts. The Christian conscience has a way 
of discovering with ever increasing clearness what is involved in 
the Christian ethic. Today there is a very large body of mission- 
aries and mission supporters who are not only prepared to give up 
these special privileges, but who are eager to see the whole treaty 
system altered so that any privileges they may have in the future 
be only such as are accorded freely by the Chinese people and gov- 
ernment. Chinese Christians, broadly speaking, share the general 
view in the country that the time has come for treaty revision or 
abrogation. Since the missionary movement in China has largely 
passed from the first and second into the third stage it becomes 
the missionary to be very sensitive to this opinion. It means that 
Chinese Christians generally would rather take certain risks of 
persecution in the unsettled times and throw themselves on the 
reasonableness of their fellow countrymen than shelter behind the 
foreign Powers whose treaties have hitherto been the guarantee of 
their protection. 


It is true that a good many missionaries still believe that the 
clauses are wise and right and that to disturb the status quo while 
China is in so unsettled a state is neither safe nor is it the best thing 


at 


for China herself. While differing from this opinion the writer wishes 
to express respect for those who hold it, because he believes it to be 
based upon a deep love of China and a profound conviction in regard to 
what is in the interest of the Kingdom of God. 


At the same time it is necessary to point out that a very large 
body of missionary opinion has been voiced in a contrary direction. 
A full statement of the opinion expressed during the last two years 
is appended to this memorandum. This will show that an over- 
whelming majority of expressed opinion from missionary and Chris- 
tian circles tends in the same direction with certain variations in 
detail. The National Christian Council of China in October, 1926, 
after a very careful scrutiny of this material passed the following 
resolution which may be said fairly to represent the bulk of this 
opinion: . 

“RESOLVED: That, while the National Christian Council is not in 
a position to speak officially for the organizations which have 
combined to bring it into existence, yet, after studying closely all . 
the recorded actions of these organizations, we, collectively and as 
individuals, place on record our conviction: 


1. That the Christian Church and Christian Missions should 
preach the Gospel and perform Christian service in China upon 
the basis of religious liberty freely accorded by the Republic of 
China, and that all provisions in the treaties with foreign coun- 
tries for special privileges for the churches or missions should be 
removed. — 

2. That the present treaties between China and foreign Pow- 
ers should be revised on a basis of freedom and equality. 

3. That we are glad of the steps already taken towards this. 
end by the Governments concerned and trust that they may 
persist in their efforts till satisfactory results have been achieved. 

4. That whatever were the historical circumstances which led 
to the present state of affairs, its speedy remedy is now the joint 
responsibility of Chinese and foreigners and that in this task we 
need the spirit of persistent forbearance, understanding, and love 
on both sides. 


The Council therefore calls Christians in China of whatever 
nationality or occupation to a more fearless following of Christ, 
whatever the cost, and to cooperation in bringing His Spirit into 
our international relationships.” 


From the above it will be seen that there has been a decided 
change in missionary opinion in recent years and that there is now 
a strong conviction in many quarters that the political status of 
the missionary should not be one of special privilege in China and 
that he should be ready to accept such provisions as China may 
freely accord to him in the prosecution of his peaceful avocation. 


More recently the British Government has taken the initiative 
In regard to this question in the Memorandum handed to the 


18 


Chinese Government (North and South) at the end of January, 
1927, as follows: 


“His Majesty’s Government are prepared to accept the prin- 
ciple that British missionaries should no longer claim the right to 
purchase land in the interior, that Chinese converts should look 
to Chinese law and not to the Treaties for protection; and that 
missionaries’ educational and medical institutions will conform to 
Chinese laws and regulations applying to similar Chinese insti- 
tution.” 


B. The relation to treaties is not the only question which 
arises in this connection. Another ground for identifying the mis- 
sionary with the political activities of his country has been found 
in the indemnities which have been sought and secured in respect 
of missionaries who have lost their lives and mission property that 
has been destroyed. The assumption of foreign Powers in dealing 
with China has been that such losses must be made good in kind. 
It is doubtful whether the Western Powers would be prepared to 
accept any such claim made upon them by China and indeed the 
United States in 1881 definitely repudiated any obligation although 
on one occasion at any rate a grant was made as an act of grace. 
That foreign Powers make such a claim in China is felt to be a 
sign of that assumption of superiority now so deeply resented by 
Chinese. The claim is not made by all missionary societies and 
some even refuse any indemnity offered either for loss of life or 
property. There have, however, been enough cases where the 
claims have been made and the indemnities accepted to cause a 
conviction that missions generally share the attitude and are virtu- 
ally a part of the governmental organization of the States from 
which the missionaries come. 


This conviction is all the deeper because of cases eters the 
death of the missionary has been made the pretext for a definite 
aggressive move as in the seizure of Kiaochow by Germany after 
the murder of two German missionaries. The exaction of the 
Boxer Indemnity, and the large amounts accepted by missions in 
North China on account of their losses at that time is another 
case in point. Many missionaries today feel that harm was done 
to the whole movement by the acceptance of such money and the 
investment of it in splendid buildings which are a constant witness 
to China of the close relationship between the missionary enterprise 
and the political activities of governments. 

A considerable and probably an increasing, body of mission- 
aries now feel that all indemnities whether for life or property 
should be refused, more are opposed to making any claim, while not 
unwilling to accept anything that is offered by Chinese authori- 
ties. Others regard the making of a claim as the simple assertion 
of a human right and the failure to do so as tantamount to acqui- 
escence in evil. The number who would accept any money payment 
in respect of the death of missionary is probably not large though 
it is impossible to make any estimate. This question is likely to 


19 


arise again in an acute form in view of the considerable property 
losses incurred during the recent unsettlement. It would be highly 
desirable if a common policy based on a clear sense of what is right 
should be accepted by the missions. In seeking to reach any such 
an agreement Chinese Christian opinion would, of course, be given 
very great weight. 


C. The period of the European War was unfortunate from the 
point of view of the position of missionaries in China. At that 
time not a few missionaries went home or stayed at home to enter 
the fighting forces, to engage as chaplains, Y.M.C.A. workers and 
officers to the Chinese Labour corps. Many missionaries took a 
strongly nationalist viewpoint and did not hesitate to express them- 
selves. Some undertook some definite propaganda for their own coun- 
tries. When the question of China coming into the war was being dis- 
cussed a good deal of pressure was brought upon her to come in 
and missionaries were not slow to express an opinion. The treat- 
ment accorded to German missions in Hong Kong and other incidents 
which may have been quite inevitable, all served to deepen the sense 
of a close relationship between the missionary movement.and the 
political activities of governments. It is not intended to pick out 
any for criticism—it is simply necessary to record the fact. 


D. A similar situation has developed in recent months. Fear- 
ing some danger to missionaries in the interior in the event of dis- 
turbance at Shanghai or elsewhere, governmental authorities have 
used the strongest possible pressure short of actual injunctions to 
get missionaries to withdraw from their stations. It has been al- 
most impossible to resist this pressure and very few have done so. 
The writer is not prepared to criticise the governments for giving 
this advice. The fact, however, remains that the general withdrawal 
of missionaries at a time when the situation did not seem, in many 
local centers, to call for any such action has again suggested to the 
Chinese mind that the missionary is simply a part of the state machine 
and is ready, when the choice has to be made, to accept its advice in- 
stead of remaining at the post of duty. The writer believes that 
most missionaries could not do other than follow this advice, while 
expressing his keen appreciation of the fact that a few were pre- 
pared to face all that was involved in rejecting the advice given— 
yet it is these latter who have demonstrated to China that there 
is a spirit in the missionary movement independent of the gov- 
ernments and that missionaries recognize a higher duty than 
obedience to a secular authority. With the many who felt com- 
pelled to leave we can only express sympathy in what was often a 
position of the most acute pain and distress. 


E. The position accorded to Roman Catholic missionaries as 
being of official status, but refused by Protestants, must also be 
referred to. This led in times past to a very grave confusion in 
regard to the issue we are considering. Further, the fact that 
many Chinese turned to missionaries in law cases for their support 


20 


aa 


and advice must be remembered as a serious item in the charge 
against missions. Recently a large number of such cases have 
been examined and it was found that the vast majority were 
those of Roman Catholic missionaries. No doubt in many cases 
such interference was prompted ‘by a real desire to right a wrong, 
and doubtless many wrongs were righted. But, in the light of 
events, it is likely that far the largest proportion of missionaries 
would agree that such action, however high the motive, has done 
harm rather than good, and that any such interference in the local 
administration of justice is unwarrantable even when a palpable 
injustice is being committed. 

The missionary movement in its developing life has thus 
touched upon the political field at many points of which some only 
are mentioned here. Other aspects have been more prominent in 
other fields. Recalling the four stages mentioned earlier it may be 
urged that in the first and second stages there is justification for 
some kind of political protection if sought and given in the right 
way. The movement meets with unreasoning prejudice and may at 
least claim to be given a fair hearing much as Paul claimed his 
rights as a Roman citizen. The early converts are often few and 
weak and if they meet with persecution based on mere prejudice 
and superstition they may, not unnaturally, be ready to avail them- 
selves of special privileges where they can be gained in a legitimate 
way. Whether the treaties between China and Western Powers can 
be so regarded is, no doubt, open to question. But, at the time 
when these rights were claimed and accepted, little if any objection 
was felt on such grounds and the Chinese Christians have until re- 
cently been only too glad to avail themselves of the protection 
secured through the treaties. 


In the third stage the time comes when the rights. of the 
Churches established through missionary effort must be increas- 
ingly recognized and the initiative begins to pass from the mis- 
sionary to the Chinese and other nationals. At this point the 
missionary should recognize the natural desire of the churches to 
make their own position clear and hence the withdrawal of the 
missionary’s claim to special privilege has become an obvious corol- 
lary of his whole aim and method in carrying on the work. This 
stage in China is being reached or has been reached at the time 
when national consciousness is deeply stirred in regard to the 
whole question of the treaties. It is clear that this environment 
indicates a more definite and rapid break with the past than might 
have otherwise seemed necessary. 

In the fourth stage which is already reached in certain ad- 
vanced groups, the question of any relation between the missionary 
and politics could scarcely arise. The Christian Church will act 
according to the convictions which it holds, and the place of the 
missionary is simply as a member of that church and not as a 
separate individual or as belonging to a separate group. He will 
certainly not wish to claim special privileges and he should be 


21 


more than ever careful not to complicate the issue by any action 
that tends to make of the missionaries a specialized and distinct 
group of persons. He will still, of course, have to consider his 
position and his duty as a citizen of the country from which he 
comes. Some missionaries, realizing this problem as a peculiarly 
difficult one in the later stages of missionary work, have considered 
the advisability of changing their nationality. This question is too 
intricate to be more than alluded to in this memorandum. 


VII. Present Tendencies in the Missionary Movement: 


A few words may perhaps be added to draw attention to cer- 
tain tendencies in modern missions which have a distinct bearing on 
international and inter-racial contacts. It cannot be maintained 
that these are universal and universally accepted as satisfactory, 
but it cannot be denied that they are marked tendencies and that 
a comparison of the movement now with its aspect 50 years ago 
would fully demonstrate this general line of development. 


(a) There is a growing readiness to confess the faults of Wes- 
tern civilization, to admit frankly that it is not fully Christian and 
to approach the Far East, not simply critical of its civilization, but 
in the belief that West and East together can discover and work 
out the Christian ethic for our common life more adequately than 
either country could do alone. 


_(b) There is a very strong desire to withdraw as soon as 
possible from the predominant place in the Christian movement. 
This is shown by the many schemes which have been adopted or 
are now under discussion for giving the contral of the Christian 
movement to Chinese, the missionary accepting his place under 
direction from the proper Chinese authorities and making his con- 
tribution rather as a servant of the Chinese Church than as pioneer, 
director or administrator. Almost every department of missionary 
work in China shows marked advances in this matter during the 
last ten years. 


(c) There is a strong movement towards the elimination of 
special privileges which have been granted to missionaries and to 
Chinese Christians under the treaties. This does not mean that 
missionaries and missionary societies would not be glad to continue 
the work which they are doing in different parts of China, but 
many believe that it would be better that some of this work should 
in the meantime be closed rather than that it should rest upon 
privileges which have been secured through the treaties now 
criticized. } 

(d) There is increasing emphasis upon the constructive rather 
than the destructive elements in the Christian message. Undoubtedly 
the Christian message does involve the destruction of evils and 
superstitions. The whole trend of the missionary movement, how- 
ever, now is to leave the destructive forces to work themselves out, 
and to emphasize the personality of Jesus Christ and the simple, 


22 


= 


essential features of His life and teaching as set forth in the New 
Testament. This tendency is coupled with a greater readiness to 
learn from those to whom the Christian message is brought and 
a much more general recognition of the value of other religious 
systems. A higher standard of missionary training is being de- 
manded from year to year, although not all missionary societies are 
moving in this direction. 

(e) Greater stress is being laid upon the social and inter- 
national implications of the Christian Gospel. The missionary 
movement still bases its work on the conception of an individual 
change of heart, the introduction of new motives and a fresh 
dynamic into the spirit of the individual who comes under the 
Christian influence; but it is much more freely recognized than for- 
merly that it is incumbent upon the Christian Church to study 
the social problems of the day, to realize the fact that the in- 
dividual is to a large extent the creature of his environment, and 
that it is the bounden duty of Christians to study that environment 
with thoroughness and sympathy and to do their utmost to remold 
it in accordance with Christian principles. So far as China is 
concerned, this latter movement seems to correspond to the tendency 
of Chinese Christians who are not in the main of the introspective 
or mystical type, but rather tend to judge the Christian faith by 
its practical results in the common life. 


VIII. The Value of Missions in Relation in the Solution of 
Race Questions: 

In the foregoing sections an effort has been made to deal 
candidly and as fully as space permitted with various aspects of 
the missionary movement which have come up for criticism as 
proving a hindrance rather than a help towards improving race 
contacts in the world of today. While laying emphasis on the cen- 
tral purpose of missions, the writer has not hesitated to face the 
inherent difficulty of the missionary in fulfilling that purpose nor 
has he desired to hide or minimize his failure to do so in many 
cases. Nevertheless he would not be true to his own convictions if 
the memorandum were to close on the note of defense or merely 
of explanation. To the writer’s mind the missionary movement has, 
in the main, been a factor making for better understanding and 
good will and he believes this is more true today than ever in spite 
of certain matters to which much attention has been turned. This 
contention is based upon the following grounds. 

(a) The missionary movement has put into many lands a 
multitude of men and women of good will who, whatever their 
faults, have rendered and are rendering unselfish service of a very 
high grade and are showing by life even more than by word that 
racial barriers can be overcome and that there is a basis on which 
the deepest fellowship can be achieved between persons of varying 
points of view. These lives are the biggest asset of the missionary 
movement. When many foreigners are frankly concerned chiefly 


23 


with profit making or with securing a political and économic ad- 
vantage for their country here is this large body of foreigners who 
in the main put these things on one side and work for pure love 
to interpret the highest things which the West has to offer to the 
East. | 3 


(b) The actual work done in schools, colleges, hospitals, asylums, 
churches, etc., has created numberless points of mutual understand- 
ing, has broken down prejudices, has produced men and women in 
the countries concerned who have the international spirit and groups 
wherein race and nation come to take a relatively smaller place as 
men work together for a still higher unity—the one family under 
heaven. 


(c) The missionary has, on the whole, acted as a wholesome 
check upon other aspects of racial contacts inspired by less worthy 
ideals. Traders who have been guilty of exploitation have been chal- 
lenged as in the opium traffic and other similar evils. A watchful 
eye has been kept upon those aspects of the situation which tend to 
produce friction and not infrequently there have been missionaries 
who have fearlessly exposed the same. 


(d) On the whole the missionary has sought to interpret the East 
to the West. Unfortunately there have been some who have put the 
worse elements of eastern life under the limelight and have thus 
tended to create a false sense of superiority and so vitiate race con- 
tacts. But by translation of classical writings and a sympathetic 
study of the life of other peoples missionaries have also done much 
to lay a foundation for a better mutual understanding. 


(e) The essential message of the Christian missionary is one 
of reconciliation. Where that message has gripped men it has done 
its own work. The incomparable figure of Jesus Christ has won the 
allegiance of many millions in the East and West alike. He is uni-. 
versal however national many of His followers may be. There is 
something in Christianity which breaks through the failure of in- 
dividual Christians be they diplomats, traders or missionaries. This 
something is in essence a healing power to our many discords. It is 
this which ultimately justifies the missionary movement. | 


24 


